


Haru

by yumi_michiyo



Category: Sakura Taisen | Sakura Wars
Genre: Drama, F/F, F/M, Friendship, General, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2010-05-04
Updated: 2010-07-20
Packaged: 2017-10-09 07:09:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,919
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/84378
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yumi_michiyo/pseuds/yumi_michiyo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>No matter what happens, cherry blossoms bloom in the capital every spring. A Ogami/Sakura serial told with LJ prompts. Set in the manga canon.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Night

**Author's Note:**

> **Author's Note:** Written for the prompt 'yielding'.

**Author's Note:** Written for the prompt 'yielding'.

* * *

Ogami's footsteps echoed through the Grand Imperial Theatre; it was midnight, and everyone was asleep.

"Almost forgot it was my turn to take the night patrol," he muttered under his breath. "Just my luck."

The young captain gingerly prodded one arm, wincing as the flesh yielded under pressure painfully. That last battle against Crimson Miroku was barely a few days ago and he was still a little sore.

But the conflict between two of his Hanagumi members, Kanna and Sumire, had been completely cleared up – and being a battle of epic proportions to rival the greater one they fought to keep Tokyo safe, Ogami was in a good mood.

"Nearly finished patrolling the second floor." Thoughts of his warm, inviting bed filled his thoughts and he smiled.

But then he spotted a lone figure, its back to him, staring out the French glass window which dominated the hallway before him. It was oblivous to his presence as he approached...

"Sakura-kun," said Ogami softly. "Can't sleep?"

She jumped. "O – Ogami-san!" Sakura fidgeted with the hem of her kimono.

Her captain chuckled. "It's alright, Sakura-kun." He switched off the flashlight. "Actually, I'm happy you went for a walk. It was getting a bit lonely by myself."

She blushed. "Ogami-san..." They watched the lights outside; even at that hour, Tokyo still bustled with activity.

"I see why you love this spot so much," commented the captain. "The view is really lovely."

"Yes," she smiled, touching the glass. "No matter what time it is, life goes on. People go about their daily business in peace."

"This is what we fight for," she added in a much softer voice. Ogami heard it, and smiled.


	2. Shattered Peace

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sakura blinked, and the spell broke.

Sakura blinked, and the spell broke.

"It's late, Ogami-san," she said with a blush. "You should rest; you must be tired after that last battle..."

"Ah, not really..." He rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. "You too, Sakura-kun." He switched on his flashlight. "Come, I'll walk you back to your room."

" – but, Ogami-san – "

"It's alright. I'm done with the patrol, and it's on the way too."

At last, Sakura returned his cheerful grin with a hesitant smile. "Thank you, Ogami-san."

* * *

The next morning was a complete departure from the tentative, friendly atmosphere of last night. Ogami sighed as he picked at his breakfast while Kanna and Sumire argued.

"It wasn't me who dirtied that fancy kimono of yours, snake woman!" yelled Kanna.

"Who else could it have been then? No one else is as wilfully clumsy as you are, you gorilla woman!" shot back Sumire.

The captain stood up. "Sumire-kun, if Kanna said she didn't do it, I believe her. Kanna, please try not to provoke her temper." He sat down calmly as the two combatants stared at him, dumbstruck.

"Whoa! You've gotten good at this, Ogami-han," remarked Kohran from over the top of her mechanical manual. He smiled and opened his mouth to reply –

The siren wailed, and every head in the dining hall turned.

"The alarm! Let's go!"

The sound of pounding feet filled the hallways; the Hanagumi dashed towards the portrait hall which led to the underground base.

General Yoneda was waiting for them already, his hands clasped behind his back.

"Wakiji have been spotted around Eko-in in the Ryogoku district," he said, gesturing to the screen. Faint, blurred images of the steam-powered robots flickered there."

"Most worrying…" The image zoomed in on the faint outline of a man.

"Aoi Satan," breathed Sakura.


	4. Waiting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Life goes on at the Teigeki in spite of earlier events.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for the LJ comm **100_fairytales**; the prompt used was 'keeping up appearances'.

Underneath Tokyo, Tenkai reclined in his throne. Aoi Satan knelt before him with his head bowed.

"The only one left," remarked Tenkai. "The others are dead."

"My lord."

He raised a hand. "They served me well – as you continue to do, Satan." The ghoul smiled. "My full power has returned to me; the imperial capital is mine again."

Tenkai rose. "It is time."

"My lord, you promised – "

"Yes. Your reward for helping me." He glided over to the kneeling figure. "Bishop Tenkai rewards his loyal followers."

Satan barely suppressed his grin as power coursed through his body. Power unimaginable; enough to destroy.

* * *

Ogami felt a lot better the next morning after a good night's sleep. Thankfully, there was not much work to be done that day; the Hanagumi had just received their scripts for their latest performance and were busy learning their lines.

Surprisingly, there had not been as much fuss about casting as he had expected.

"Th' Phantom of th' Opera?" asked Kohran, pronouncing the unfamiliar kanji carefully.

"It's a musical based on a novel from France," said Ogami, smiling at Iris' sudden interest.

"... This is an outrage!" fumed Sumire, waving the script about. "I demand to know who did the casting!"

Ogami sighed. He should have known it was too good to be true.

Kanna smirked. "But Carlotta suits you perfectly, as though she was written with you in mind." She flipped through the pages. "So I'm... Rowl? Roll? Raul? Whoever _that_ is... And look, Maria! You got the top spot as the Phantom!"

Sumire was fuming quietly. "Tell me, Ensign, who was that fool who could possibly make the mistake of giving me, Kanzaki Sumire, a supporting role in this production?"

Ogami grinned weakly. "Well, look here, Sumire-kun..."

"Hey, don't bully the poor Captain, snake woman!"

"Silence, ape woman! Can't you see I'm busy talking to the Ensign?"

"Here they go again," muttered Kohran. She skimmed through the cast list. "I'm... Meg? Who's that?"

Sakura stared at the list in dismay. "I'm the lead?"

"What?" exclaimed Sumire; her copy of the script grew even more crumpled. "This is an outrage! As the Top Star of the Teigeki, I _demand_ to know why the leading role has been given to this country bumpkin!"

Sakura bristled. "Country bumpkin?"

"Stop picking on her, witch!" Kanna jumped into the fray, despite Maria's nonverbal warnings. "They probably just couldn't stand you any longer!"

Quick as lightning, the other girl whirled on her longtime adversary. "Oh? And do _you_ have something to say about it, gorilla woman?"

Ogami, unnoticed in the background, sighed and massaged his stomach. It was going to be a long day.

* * *

As he headed down to the dining hall for dinner, Ogami passed Yuri in the hallway.

"Ah, Ogami-san!" she said. "The manager wants to see you right away."

"Alright, thanks for telling me, Yuri-kun."

The captain sighed; dinner would have to wait. He turned and made his way up the steps.

* * *

"You wanted to see me, Manager?"

He looked up from his cup. "Ah. Yes. Come in, Ogami." The older man took a long draught.

"Tell me," he asked abruptly, "how did the girls take the casting?"

Ogami tried not to fidget. "Not... very well, sir."

"Did you tell them it was you who did the casting?"

"No, sir."

Yoneda chuckled. "Smart boy. You don't want them murdering you before opening night, eh?"

"Manager..."

He poured himself more sake. "Let me guess. You want to know why I put you in charge of this production, right?"

"... Yes, Manager. I'm not very experienced with the theater, and yet you entrusted this big-budget play to me – "

"Jeez!" Yoneda slammed his cup down; Ogami jumped.

"Get a grip, I don't like whiners. I chose you because of that outstanding job with _A Midsummer's Night Dream_, no more, no less. You think too little of yourself."

"I... yes, sir."

The older man's face softened. "Hey. I know it'll be hard, especially dealing with Sumire, but think of it as a learning experience. Not only with the theater, but with the Hanagumi as well." He leaned back in his chair. "This is all for the protection of the capital."

"And speaking of the capital..." Yoneda checked to make sure they were alone, before leaning forward conspiratorially. "More sightings of unusual activity involving the y_ou-know-what_s have been reported; we'll keep you updated when we receive more information."

"We still don't know exactly what those things are?"

"No." The commander looked older than Ogami had seen him before. "However, this doesn't mean you can slack, Ogami. You need to be prepared in case anything happens. Is that clear?"

The ensign stiffened into a salute. "Understood."

"Good lad. You may go."

Once the door of Yoneda's office clicked shut, Ogami sighed. It was easier said than done, dealing with the likes of the Teigeki's Top Star and the capital's defence; he might even think the first more difficult to deal with.

* * *

Surprisingly, it was Sumire who brought up the subject first. Over breakfast in the dining hall one morning, she pushed aside her plate and cleared her throat.

"The ensign has been looking rather troubled of late," she declared, pushing her fringe back.

Kohran nodded. "Yeah, I've noticed. Ogami-han's been spendin' a lot of time down in th' trainin' room."

Sakura merely nodded. The captain had not opened up to her since the night of the last battle, when she had taken him dinner.

"I've got an idea!" Everyone turned to look at Kanna who was grinning. "Manager Yoneda'll be giving us an off day after we finish the production! We should all go out and take the Captain with us!"

"... that's actually a good idea, Kanna-san," said Sumire. "I was expecting you to say something involving food, since that's all you ever think about..."

"Say that again, cactus woman!" But the words were said almost like a formality; they simply just were not in the mood when their squad captain was in this condition.

"Yes, that's a good idea, Kanna." Maria stood up. "I'll speak with Manager Yoneda later this afternoon and see whether we can get it earlier."

"Yay! A date with Onii-chan!"

"Erm, Iris, I don't think it really qualifies as a date since all of us are going," said Kanna. "Now, if it was only one of us with the captain..."

She left the sentence unfinished; all the girls blushed and looked away, not meeting each other's eyes.

Maria broke the silence. "We've wasted enough time here. Let's go. We have a rehearsal to attend."

They drifted out of the dining hall slowly; Sakura hung back, her hands clutched in front of her. Maria noticed and fell back with her. "Sakura?"

"Ogami-san – Ogami-san hasn't been saying anything to anyone. It's not like him... not since that time." She was not about to tell her friend about the promise she had extracted from him that night at the empty stage; before the others had come in. "I'm worried."

"He'll be fine," said the Russian girl brusquely. The last thing she wanted was to have their female lead distracted; Maria's focus was on the play now.

"But Ogami-san – "

" – is most likely waiting for us in at the stage already." She noted the crestfallen look on Sakura's face and continued in a gentler voice. "Sakura, you know the captain well enough. He'll be fine."

She nodded, seeing it was pointless to argue. Sakura would just have to trust in Ogami and Maria.

* * *

Ogami was poring over a dusty book taken from the attic in the library. It was ancient; every turn of the page made him sneeze. He sighed. There was virtually nothing of interest in it; nothing to explain the nature of the strange black object.

"Onii-chan?"

The captain looked up to see Iris hovering beside his desk. "Iris," he said, breaking into a smile. "What's the matter?"

She glanced down at the stuffed teddy in her arms. "Jean-Paul had a nightmare," Iris said in a confidential whisper, "and can't get back to sleep."

Ogami patted Jean-Paul. "I see. Well, let's tuck him in. And I suppose you must be tired too, Iris?"

He left the book where it was, standing up and taking up the lamp that sat beside him. Iris slipped her hand in his free one.

In Iris' room, Ogami sat on the edge of her bed, tugging Jean-Paul's nightcap straight and making the little girl giggle.

"There," he said, pulling up the blanket. "Both Jean-Paul and Iris are comfortable now."

Blue eyes stared back solemnly. The captain frowned.

"Iris? Is there something else?"

She pulled the blankets all the way up, leaving only her eyes visible. "Iris is worried about Onii-chan," came the muffled sound. "Onii-chan hasn't smiled since that fight."

"I'm fine," he said defensively. "We lost the battle and I'm just trying to find out what that thing was."

"Onii-chan?"

Iris regarded him from over the top of her blankets. "Promise Iris something. Promise you won't keep your problems to yourself, okay?"

Ogami hesitated. It sounded very familiar...

"... Yes. Of course, Iris. I'll be sure to share any problems I'm having."


	5. Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A major thunderstorm strikes Tokyo. More filler fluff than actual plot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for the LJ comm **100_fairytales**; the prompt used was 'the thunderstorm'. Not really a real chapter, more of a fluffy filler ^_^

Ogami frowned as he glanced out the window. Thunder boomed in the distance; even as he watched, clouds rolled forward and hid the crescent moon from view.

"There's going to be a massive thunderstorm tonight," he murmured. "Sakura-kun... I wonder if she's alright."

He got up from Iris' bed and tucked the blanket under her chin. One last look at the sleeping girl, and the door shut.

"I'd better finish up my rounds first before I go check on Sakura-kun," he decided. The captain ran his hand through his hair. "Aah... the book. I forgot about it. I'll have to collect it too before I go to sleep." Despite the complete absence of anything useful, it was still part of the Kagekidan archives.

Ogami trudged through the hallways – but his mind was not on his duties.

_There's another rehearsal tomorrow – and Maria tells me that Sumire-kun isn't happy with her role at all, now that she's read through the script. She wants a recasting. Kohran's occupied with another top-secret project for the Flower Mansion and is always distracted... Sumire-kun's attitude isn't exactly helping Kanna's concentration – the pair of them bicker worse than before. Sakura-kun... she's understandably nervous about this major role, and Sumire-kun is only worsening things. Not to mention the Kuronosu Council and that object..._

Ogami heaved a sigh and ran a hand distractedly through his hair. _Ah... what to do..._

A flash of lightning accompanied by a loud crack of thunder made him jump. The rain had just began to fall; torrents of water rattled noisily against the windows and roof.

He had not experienced such a storm before; the wind seemed to tear at the panes of glass even as water pounded at it. Lightning lit up the night sky and turned it to day.

His thoughts went to Sakura. Her debilitating phobia of thunderstorms was sure to be worsened by the terrible storm.

Making his way to her room, he checked in on Iris first; the French girl appeared not to have been disturbed, sleeping soundly in her bed. Ogami allowed himself a quick smile of relief.

"Sakura-kun? Are you alright?" called the captain, rapping on her bedroom door. "May I come in?"

Silence, punctuated by thunder and the rushing sound of falling rain. He grew more worried.

"Sakura-kun?" He tested the door; it swung open easily.

She was huddled in the farthest corner of the room from the window, her arms wrapped tight around her knees. With every flash of lightning which illuminated the place, Sakura flinched. He could barely make out the script for _The Phantom of the Opera_ beside her – she had clearly been learning her lines when the storm struck.

Ogami fell to one knee beside her, his hand shaking her arm. "Sakura-kun!"

"O – Ogami-san..."

Sakura clung to him, shaking uncontrollably. The young captain rubbed her back.

"Shh... it's alright. I'm here."

Another crack of thunder; Ogami winced as her fingers dug into his shirt painfully. "Calm down, Sakura-kun... remember my promise to you?"

She did calm down at that; Sakura raised her face. "Yes..."

"Sakura-kun... The storm will pass soon," he said softly. "Get up – you'll catch cold on the floor." Pulling her to her feet, Ogami slipped a steadying arm around her waist. She murmured her thanks and allowed him to guide her to her bed.

"You must be tired – it was a long day at rehearsal." The captain held up the script. "And still working hard, I see."

She offered him a weak smile. "You... could say that."

Thunder boomed; Ogami touched her cheek, preventing her from looking at the window. Sakura's cheek flushed crimson under his hand.

"Ogami-san..."

"Do you... trust me?"

She closed her eyes and covered his hand with her own. "I – Yes..."

The young man nodded and pulled her closer. Sakura rested her head against his chest, exhaling softly. Her trembling gradually eased away.

In the dark, his hand fumbled for hers; large fingers enclosed smaller ones in their grip. Ogami was heartened to feel Sakura's breathing become more even.

"Listen; the storm's passing."

Thunder continued to roll, but the sound was muffled; lightning lit up the sky only intermittently. He felt her sigh with relief against his neck – and blushed.

"Um, Ogami-san..." Sakura hurriedly distanced herself from him, also blushing furiously. "Thank you for being here with me."

"Ah, erh... it was no problem at all," he stammered. "Well... I should be leaving now. Good night."

She followed him to the door to see him out. In the short walk there, both of them took the time to regain their normal composure.

"Good night, Ogami-san." Sakura's hands were clasped neatly in front of her. "Really... thank you for earlier."

"Don't mention it."

While this exchange was going on, both failed to notice the door down the hallway open a fraction, before closing without a sound.

 


End file.
